Felt Mountain
Felt Mountain is the debut studio album by English electronic music duo Goldfrapp. It was released on 11 September 2000 by Mute Records. The album takes influence from a variety of music styles such as 1960s pop, cabaret, folk and electronica. Felt Mountain was generally well received by music critics, and was described as "simultaneously smarmy and seductive, yet elegant and graceful". In 2001, the album was shortlisted for the Mercury Prize, an annual music prize awarded for the best British or Irish album from the previous year. Background Goldfrapp signed a recording contract with London-based record label Mute Records in August 1999. "Human" was one of the first pieces from the album, with a demo of the song made by Alison Goldfrapp existing before the band was created. Will heard Alison singing on a very early version of this song, and it sounded great to him, feeling a connection between both of them, and wanting to meet Alison and work with her. The first song Alison and Will wrote together was "Lovely Head", which would also later be released as the first single off the album. According to Gregory, he felt very lucky because both of the members were pleased with the song. The second song recorded was "Horse Tears", which set another kind of direction up. He says this song has the kind of slow pace and intensity that they enjoy. After these two songs written, Goldfrapp and Gregory felt that they had their work cut out, because they felt both of them were very good, and they wanted to follow that direction afterwards, which sometimes made the process harder.Choler Magazine – Scaling Felt Mountain The pair began recording their debut album over a six-month period, beginning in September 1999, in a rented bungalow in the Wiltshire countryside.The Guardian – Interview with Alison Goldfrapp The recording process was difficult for Alison Goldfrapp, who was often alone and disturbed by the mice and insects in the bungalow: :"It was mad and I wouldn't do it again. My social and private life collapsed. Because it was a bungalow, it felt really vulnerable. Big windows. Mice in the roof. I like extremes but, at the end of that six months, I really did feel I was going bonkers. I remember spending three days in a raincoat, scrubbing the side of the bungalow because there were all these spiders hatching. I became obsessive about the wildlife I thought was taking over the bungalow." :: – Alison This situation inspired the album, along with the fact that it was recorded outside, under the stars, and partly because the feeling of "total loneliness where something horrible is happening" reignited fears from Alison's childhood. Gregory described their recording sessions as intense because he was unaccustomed to composing with others. Goldfrapp contributed the album's lyrics, and Gregory and Goldfrapp composed the music together. The lyrics are abstract obsessional tales inspired by films, Goldfrapp's childhood, and the loneliness she felt while recording the album. Singles Lovely Head.jpg|link=Lovely Head|"Lovely Head" (2000) Utopia.jpg|link=Utopia|"Utopia" (2000) Human.jpg|link=Human|"Human" (2001) Utopia Genetically Enriched.jpg|link=Utopia|"Utopia (Genetically Enriched)" (2001) Pilots.jpg|link=Pilots|"Pilots" (2001) Track listing All tracks written by Alison Goldfrapp and all music composed by Will Gregory and Alison Goldfrapp. Exceptions: *"Human" was also composed by Tim Norfolk and Bob Locke. *"Felt Mountain" and "Oompa Radar" have no lyrics. *"UK Girls (Physical)" is a cover of "Physical", a 1981 song by Olivia Newton-John, written by Steven Kipner and Terry Shaddick. *"A Trip to Felt Mountain" is visual content. Related releases Felt Mountain Special Edition.jpg|Special edition with bonus disc Felt Mountain Japanese Edition.jpg|Japanese edition Felt Mountain German promo box-set.jpg|link=Felt Mountain German promotional box-set|German promotional box-set Felt Mountain Radio Session.jpg|link=Felt Mountain Radio Session|"Felt Mountain (Radio Session)" Felt Mountain The Interview.jpg|link=Felt Mountain (The Interview)|"Felt Mountain (The Interview)" Felt Mountain Remixes 1.jpg|link=Felt Mountain Remixes|"Goldfrapp Remixes" Felt Mountain 2-track album sampler.jpg|link=Felt Mountain samplers|Album samplers References